Judy Garland shot to fame in the "extraordinary" family musical The Wizard Of Oz. With its fantastical blend of childish gaiety and mild gothic horror it was slightly ahead of its day in 1939, but has since become the most watched film of all time - over a billion viewers have tuned in on television alone. Let's face it: Christmas just wouldn't be the same without a garish woolly jumper and a Technicolor trip down the yellow brick road...

We're Off To See The Wizard

Angela Lansbury settles by the fire to tell us the frankly nightmarish story behind the making of The Wizard Of Oz in a feature-length documentary. It all begins with L Frank Baum who wrote the book that first caught the eye of a certain Mr Disney. Eventually Walt lost out to Louis B Mayer at MGM and Shirley Temple was slated to play Dorothy. Garland had been under contract for three years but was told by producers that she could steal the role if she lost a little weight.

The rest is history, but it was almost curtains for actor Buddy Ebsen who fell ill with aluminium poisoning in screen tests to play the Tin-Man. "Fun?" asks his replacement Jack Haley, "Like hell it was fun." As well as the physical demands, Scarecrow Ray Bolger complains of discrimination in the staff canteen. "They made us eat in the dressing room," he says, "because we were too scary." More turmoil was in store as directors were hired and fired in quick succession and Wicked Witch Margaret Hamilton was nearly roasted alive in a noxious puff of smoke. Tales of drunken munchkins and a flatulent lion (Bert Lahr) paint an even more riotous picture of life on set.

With no CGI to fall back on, the visual effects are also a big talking point. Effects wizard Arnold Gillespie reveals the mysteries behind talking trees and flying monkeys and, of course, that opening tornado sequence. The latter is also accompanied by original test footage and another documentary titled The Art Of Imagination focuses on the realisation of a convincing fantasy world. Lord Of The Rings helmer Peter Jackson is among the speakers although his methods are a little more advanced than the matte painting used for Oz. Colourful costumes, wacky sets and knockout tunes are also discussed in this documentary, which gives a palpable feel of what it was like to work inside the old studio system.

There's No Place Like Home

A section of five deleted scenes and outtakes will get your toe tapping. They include The Jitterbug musical sequence, which Ms Lansbury informs us took "five weeks and tens of thousands of dollars" to make, only to be cut from the final film. Elsewhere composer Harold Arlen showcases personal reels of behind-the-scenes footage, which find the actors sitting for publicity portraits and generally larking around. The Vintage Vault contains more archive material like coverage from the 1939 Oscars where Mickey Rooney presented Garland with a gong for Outstanding Performance By A Juvenile Actress. There's a radio vault too, featuring original promo spots and songs from the soundtrack.

Pope of Trash John Waters dubs Oz "the most mainstream cult of all" in the retrospective documentary Memories Of Oz while The Legacy Of Oz pays tribute to the TV reruns that have made the film a phenomenon. An audio commentary on disc one of this two-disc release hears from film expert John Fricke as well as cast and crew (in archive snippets) and their friends and family. Best of all, the film itself has been lovingly restored to its original Technicolor glory - a process that is explored in a new featurette.

As if that weren't enough, Jessica Lansbury does her Jackanory bit in The Wizard Of Oz Storybook and each of the leading actors gets a video profile. This Special Edition DVD is simply bursting at the seams with goodies and, as our guide through the winding maze, Lansbury only adds to its infectious cosiness. Kids and grownups won't just be over the rainbow but over the moon as well.

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